


2 Minutes

by ICanDoThisAllDayy



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexuality, Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, Heavy Angst, Idiots in Love, Jealous John, Love Confessions, M/M, Movie Reference, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Beta Read, Pining John, Pining John Watson, Pining Sherlock Holmes, Sad John Watson, Sad Sherlock Holmes, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sherlock is Married to His Work, Sorry Not Sorry, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, victor trevor is alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-09 11:44:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16449317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICanDoThisAllDayy/pseuds/ICanDoThisAllDayy
Summary: In a world where John left Mary ages ago, Victor Trevor is still alive, and both John and Sherlock are attending a friend's wedding. And a certain confession happens.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually reaaalllyyyyy bad at creative writing but I had to get this out of my system because I absolutely love this particular movie scene, I absolutely love JohnLock and I absolutely love angst.
> 
> I'm sorry about this. 
> 
> (Scene: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani)

It had been a long day trying to juggle between their latest case and attending a friend's wedding, and John needed to take a break from all the people and the celebrations. He walks out to the garden for some fresh air with two bottles of beer in his hand, hoping he could catch Sherlock and just stay away from the scene for a while. Weddings reminded him of his own unlucky, and quite frankly, unnecessary one with Mary. Luckily they both broke it off with a consensus and she was never to be seen again. _Probably off doing some assassin work anyway._

He stops in his tracks when he spots Sherlock sitting next to the pond, running his long, elegant fingers through the water. After Mary, John moved back to 221B at once. And has long since given up on dating women. He had lied to himself a lot. He loves Sherlock Holmes, always has, albeit unrequited. He decided it was better to live with him as friends than to declare his feelings and lose Sherlock too. _After all, Sherlock didn't feel things that way, did he? The ladies... they were all for a case._

He was only starting to accept his love for his flatmate when a voice interrupts his thoughts, "The night is ethereal, and so are you". Somebody just approached Sherlock, and Sherlock responds with a soft "Hi". 

_Who is he? How is Sherlock not recoiling from the horrible shot at poetry?_ _Sherlock didn't feel things that way, did he?_ John has no right to be jealous, and yet, here he is. The man, personal reasons aside, was quite good-looking after all. _Has Sherlock made a new friend and will replace me soon?_

Just then, this new man looks up and notices John standing a few metres behind Sherlock, "Are you looking for something?"

At this, Sherlock turns around. When he sees John, his smile falters a bit. John notices. He looks straight at Sherlock, "Who is he?", a voice full of indifference and lying danger.

Sherlock starts stuttering, "He...uh...He is Victor. He is here to attend the wedding as a videographer." He gives John a smile, that very smile he gave when he declared Janine was his girlfriend, except, this time, it was more sincere. "And to meet Sherlock," adds Victor, smiling and handing him a bottle of beer at that. Sherlock takes it but avoids eye contact with either man.

John examines the two of them, face suddenly turning red out of anger, jealousy and unasked questions. Ignoring Victor, he turns to his best friend, "Why are you sitting here?" _Did Sherlock feel things romantically for somebody all this time and never shared? Never felt it for me?_   Fist clenched, then unclenched. _Control_.

Victor decides to cut in again, of course. "And who are you, sir?"

John  _had to_ talk to Sherlock, about _this_ , about whatever they were and they are, about who Sherlock is, and he can't do it with this new stranger around. Hence, in a military style, he points a finger at Victor, "You. Leave".

"John?!" Sherlock was appalled. _John is supposed to be the kind, polite one, not bashing others like this. Why would he be jealous of Victor? He can't be._

"Excuse me?" Victor was not easy to intimidate.

"I said, you, please, leave." John's voice turned into a steady one, with a lot of angry undertones, and his eyes throwing daggers at Victor.

"John, stop it." Sherlock interrupts.

Victor takes a few steps towards John's direction, "You're very disrespectful".

John does the same, ready for confrontation, "Look. This is my friend's wedding, you're not needed here". They both stopped in front of Sherlock.

Victor takes a seat next to Sherlock in a smug manner, putting his arm around the dark-haired man, "Perhaps you're a little tipsy now. Sherlock called me here".

Without thinking, out of spite, jealousy, and a whole lot of truth, John states: "I'm Sherlock's boyfriend".

Sherlock gapes at John confused, embarrassed, and with the infamous nose crinkle when he does not understand what is happening.

"Now, please leave us alone." It was more of an order than a request.

Victor stands up, ready to fight John, but Sherlock intervenes and separates the two of them. "Stop it, please, both of you." He holds Victor by his arms and requests him to give him and John just five minutes, and he'll join Victor back afterwards. John couldn't believe how soft Sherlock was being with this man who he has never heard of before, and rolled his eyes so Victor could see that as he leaves. Sherlock even whispers "Thank you" before he leaves. _Unbelievable_.

When he turns back to John, he is fierce and angry. "You... You're not my boyfriend. Please."

"So he is your boyfriend, then?"

"John, what is wrong with you? You should go and apologize."

"How about I go punch him instead?" He glares at the direction Victor walked in.

Sherlock couldn't believe him, he was behaving out of character, "You're insane, John, you clearly need some space. I'm leaving," and angrily walks past him.

John suddenly remembers a text he saw on Sherlock's phone earlier in the day while they were working on the case and recites it. "When in eternal lines to time thou growest, so long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this and this gives life to thee." Sherlock stops in his tracks and John turns back in disbelief to see him.

Sherlock lets out a baffled laugh as he turns around, "What?"

John couldn't believe this was happening. "That wasn't a clue for the case... He's the one that sent you the overused Shakespearean sonnet."

Sherlock walks back towards him, in frustration, "Yes John! Victor sent me those messages. But -"

John bluntly throws in the question, "Do you love him?"

Sherlock lets his guard down, showing nothing but pain and heartbreak to John before he proceeds to walk away again. _How oblivious have you been, John._

John runs after him, shouting "Do you love him?"

Sherlock also responds in a cry as he stops pacing, "Why does it matter to you?"

"It does matter to me, Sherlock. I thought you only drank with me," and holds up the two bottles of beer he still had in his hand.

Sherlock held back a few tears, gulped to conceal the lump forming in his throat, "What are you trying to say?"

"All I'm trying to say is that you should tell Victor to leave," not meeting Sherlock's eyes as his emotions are taking a toll on him.

"But why?" Sherlock did not want to be a part of this conversation anymore. He is too vulnerable.

John looked up, and their gaze met. Finally. "Because I want you to spend all of your time with me."

Sherlock rubs his hand over his face, _tears be damned_ , and sighs, "John...I'm spending time with him because I cannot spend any more time with you". His voice starts breaking, "He's... He's my friend". Silent tears start falling down both of their faces.

John blinks a couple of times to process this information, "So... he's not your boyfriend?"

"No, John. No! Please stop doing all of this. Why can't you understand that if I spend two more minutes with you, then..." His breath hitches and he stops himself. _No_.

"Then what, Sherlock?" John gazes right at him. He braces himself for whatever he'll hear next.

"I will fall in love with you, again." Sherlock looks back at him.

John doesn't know what to say.

Sherlock then wipes a few tears, looking away from John, and whispers, "And you won't love me back... again." But John heard it. And he understood.

John doesn't know what to say, so he walks towards Sherlock, carefully wipes away Sherlock's tears, looks at him as if asking for permission, and caresses his cheekbones. 

They both study each other's faces. From this distance, all the love, the heartbreak, the suffering, the longing and the missed opportunities were so clearly defined for the two of them. They were stupid, so so stupid, and it would take so long to fix their shattered pieces.

John doesn't know what to say, so he leans in, hoping a kiss will be able to convey what he feels. Sherlock gives in almost immediately because he has wanted this for so long, and if it is a kiss filled with regrets, then be it.

When their lips finally meet, John's tears fall heavily. He never thought this was how it would go down between the two. He was sorry, so so sorry, for letting Sherlock go through so much, and was also angry at the two of them, mainly himself, for allowing himself to inflict so much pain on the one man he has always loved with all his heart and soul. _Best man. Mary. His wedding. Won't love me back... again._

Sherlock was the first to break apart. He didn't want this to last because now that he knows how it feels to have John so close, he will only have more regrets later on because they'll never be... _this_. It wasn't them. To him, this kiss was only John's way of saying sorry, this could not mean he loves him. _He never said it, did he?_

Sherlock was only letting his mind palace dream. He steps back, helps John wipe away his tears this time, and walks away. 

Maybe this was what was meant to happen. Two broken men living with a broken love.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They deserved it. John had to do something after knowing about how Sherlock feels.

As John sees Sherlock disappear into the night mist, he stands there asking himself many questions:

> _Again. What does that mean?_
> 
> _When did he start liking me?_
> 
> _Why did I call him my boyfriend?_
> 
> _What took us so long for a confession?_
> 
> _Where did he go now?_
> 
> _Who is Victor, really?_
> 
> _When do I tell him about how I really feel?_
> 
> * * *
> 
>  

He knows something still does not quite add up. In some ways, it was almost too good to be true. Sherlock might have explicitly stated it, but John, he wants more. John... needs more. More reassurances, more hopes, more _everything_. 

Seeing as they are out of London, John assumes Sherlock must not have gotten too far, either he is still at the venue or he has left directly to his room. They each got their separate rooms due to John's insistence of "not gay". " _Utterly idiotic_ ," he mutters to himself and heads to search for the other man.

His instinct told him to go back to the hotel nearby. He tried calling Sherlock on the way, to no avail. _Lucky for me our rooms are connected by a door inside_. He enters his room and through the door, gets access to Sherlock. Empty. Except he knows he was right to search here as Sherlock's gloves and scarf were tossed onto his bed. 

"He couldn't have gone very far then, that bastard loves his scarf," he sighs to nobody in particular. Rather, smiling to himself as he fondly remembers all the moments he was awed by how Sherlock accessorizes the soft scarf onto his long neck. _Yeap, definitely in love with him._

* * *

"...Sherlock?"

"Didn't think you'd find me here, John. You've learnt how to observe a little, I see." Sherlock came to the rooftop of the hotel building right after that conversation. Not because he saw rooftops as a place of comfort and solitude, God, no. He just wanted to reflect at the Moon, see how it is so isolated in the cloudy sky, yet doing rather well on his own. Much like how he was before. Before John showed him it was okay to open up to things like _Friendship_ and _Emotions_ and made him feel these childish things.

"You're mad at me," John declared.

"What leads you to that deduction?"

"Well, for one, you still haven't turned around to face me." He lets out a quiet exhalation, which somehow helps John calm down.

"Maybe I just don't want to." _John is going to leave me, again. I don't want to change my last memory of his._

"Sherlock, I -"

"The Moon looks beautiful tonight, doesn't it?" Sherlock looks up. John follows.

John doesn't respond, but he knows Sherlock knows he is looking at it. _Always his way_.

"I don't know much about astrology. But surely you must know the Moon is a satellite and hence is incapable of emitting light."

"Yeah, yeah I do. I don't follow your train of thought though."

"Obviously." He then looks down, hands clasped behind his back, deciding if he should turn around and face John. _Not now_. "I think I very much am like the Moon. There's the whole paleness of it, of course. I am physically too pale compared to others. I am also scarred, not dissimilar to the marks on this satellite. Unflattering, really. It makes sense if people do not wish to associate with me, so I do understand if you wish to stop our alliance after what just happened. The Moon is all alone up there anyway, I too will survive. I'll ask Mycroft to arrange -"

"The moon is beautiful." John now stands right behind Sherlock, which makes him finally turn around and look at the Doctor-and-Soldier, with a look of determination in his eyes Sherlock had never seen before.

John gives Sherlock a warm smile. _If not now, then never._ Sherlock's breath hitches."John..."

"No Sherlock, you've spoken back there and you've spoken now. It's my time now. Let me." Sherlock complies and nods, looking down at his shoes.

"Scars tell a story, of a life which was lived. And I know that you... You've got your own stories from when you were 'dead', and you don't have to share them with me, but I would like to. Know more. If I am lucky enough to hear that from you... despite all the pain I've caused."

"John, I slipped and made a mistake of exposing my vulnerability. However, that does not mean you need to show me any sympathy, so it's better if you forget what I said and just get to the point where you tell me you can't live with me anymore, I will perfectly understand your decision and will promise not to interfere with your normal life anymore. We can end -"

_No, no, no. Sherlock is getting it all wrong_. John shakes his head fervently, "I always fall, again and again," that seemed to stop Sherlock from speaking, confusing him.

"What you said earlier, it didn't repel me, at all. Don't know how you came to that deduction." Sherlock was about to justify himself when John held a finger up, allowing himself to continue, "For a consulting detective, I thought you'd know."

"Know what?" Nose crinkle. Warms John's heart. _Might finally be able to let Sherlock know._

"Know how I feel." He tentatively holds Sherlock's hand, and when he clasps back, he continues, "Sherlock, if we're sticking to analogies, and you compare yourself to the moon, know that I am well aware of how many scars are inflicted on you because of me. And I am terribly sorry."

"John, no pity, please, I feel like a joke," Sherlock is about to flinch his hand away but John holds onto it even tighter.

"Sherlock. Please, hear me out. This is hard for me, I don't know where to start." He absentmindedly rubs his thumb on Sherlock's hand, as if it is the most natural thing to do, which soothes him, "I thought you didn't _do_ feelings, so I never let myself show you anything. Thought that if I became too explicit, you would have known and asked me to leave the flat immediately. But even then, I don't think I did a very good job at it, because everybody else saw it anyway."

"I don't understand. See what?" Sherlock's heart starts beating faster, his transport betraying him as he starts holding out hope for what is to come after.

"I...I always fall, for you. Again and again. Since the first day, I was gone." He holds Sherlock's second hand and braces himself for what he's about to say next. "What you said earlier, I wish... I wish this wasn't how it all came out."

"John." The shorter man looks up at Sherlock, and John knows he is impatient, but this emotion he has, it can't be described in 2 seconds. _Or 2 minutes,_ his mind supplied, referring to what Sherlock said earlier.

"I wish I had known earlier... because I feel the same, Sherlock. I always have."

"But Mary -"

"-was my excuse of staying away from you. If I had spent more time with you, I would have fallen in love, with you, again, for possibly the hundredth time."

Sherlock gasps, he can't believe his ears. This must be some joke. Or a dream.  _Does. not. compute_. "..Sherlock, you alright there?" John intertwines their fingers and they fit perfectly like they're made for each other. They _are_ made for each other.

"Huh? Yeah... Yeah, I just... Sorry. Blanked out" He rapidly blinks to get John back in focus.

John chuckles, "Yeah I half hoped I would have that effect on you." He pulls Sherlock closer and their chests are almost touching, they've never been positively closer. John could feel both their heartbeats, dangerously fast.

"All I'm saying is, remember when you called me your conductor of light?" Sherlock mockingly glares at him but nods his head, "I... I would like to be that, for the rest of our lives. I want to be the light that reflects off the moon, which is sunlight, by the way, don't know if your astronomy is still weak."

"Shut up, John." John doesn't look up from their hands but could feel Sherlock's eye roll from the tone. "Get to the point already," he begged him with a smirk. 

"I want to call you my boyfriend, not out of jealousy like earlier, though I would not mind that, rather, out of sheer adoration, and, if I am fortunate, call you my husband in the future." He lets go of his hands and cups Sherlock's face, "I know I have done you very wrong, but I'm willing to make up for all the years of suffering and to be with you, no matter the circumstances." He gazes into the detective's eyes, in pure sincerity, "I am in love with the curls that bounce at the top of your head, I am in love with the eyes that were able to see, _really_ see me for who I am, I am in love with those cheekbones and that stupid coat of yours which make you look mysterious and cool, I am in -"

John suddenly is cut off mid-sentence as he finds Sherlock's lips on his own, and _this is so much better than the first kiss_ , filled with so much promise, filled with so much _togetherness_. Sherlock hastily pulls away to bore into his eyes, "I love you. Always have. Always will. The whole "falling again" was a lie because I never really fell out of love in the first place."

"I know. Git. I love you too. Always have. Always will." John's smile was so bright he could have been compared to the Sun.

"So... you're not gay, then?"

"It's a spectrum, I'm somewhere in the middle. Bisexual, as they say." Sherlock nods, as a sign of reassurance.

And then he winces, "I was blind. All the signs were there. How could I have missed it?"

John ran his fingers through his curls and calms him down, "Hey, we made it at the end, better late than never, right?" Sherlock hums in agreement, "So, you're not married to your work then?"

"I believe I have let a certain army doctor into my life and have allowed him to take over every aspect of my life, including my work, which he so amorously writes about, by the way. Such a hopeless romantic. He is a big part of my work, if not work itself." John steals a kiss from that sly face, not believing he's now allowed to do this anytime, freely, now.

"Sherlock Holmes, can I be the Sun to your Moon?"

"John Watson, you always have been, and you always will be." And they share one last kiss on the rooftop before heading back to Sherlock's room, together.

There are two broken, but in love, men, against the rest of the world. _Always have been, always will be._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was I held at gunpoint to write this happy ending? No.  
> Did it bother me I ended the first chapter with two heartbroken people obviously in love? Yes.
> 
> I tried my best to give them a cute little happy ending and some of the references back to the show are so cheesy but it's supposed to be eventual feel-good so please bear with my writing :'D
> 
> I'm open to both feedback and criticism and would like to hear back from you lovelies. Thank you so much for taking your time out to read an amateur trying her hands at writing xxx

**Author's Note:**

> Annywaaayyyy if you like it please do leave comments or kudos because I have so many movies scenes which are the equivalent of "TRMOJAS" and I'd love to share them ~~~ <3 <3 love you all


End file.
